


Ghosts and Shades

by Rosewing789



Series: Linked Universe [7]
Category: Linked Universe - Fandom, The Legend of Zelda & Related Fandoms
Genre: Angst, Gen, He’s trying his best, Hopeful Ending, Medium Wind, Shadow needs a hug, but not really, sort of humor?
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-10-27
Updated: 2020-10-27
Packaged: 2021-03-08 20:22:29
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,067
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27232693
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Rosewing789/pseuds/Rosewing789
Summary: Wind can see ghosts and Shadow is desperate
Relationships: Four & Shadow Link (Linked Universe), Wind & Shadow Link (Linked Universe)
Series: Linked Universe [7]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1830298
Comments: 10
Kudos: 132





	Ghosts and Shades

The dim glow of the fire highlighted the tips of the trees around camp. The pitch black sky was dotted with stars like salt on a black table. The moon was full and shone down brightly. Moonlight highlighted the tops of the trees like snow on a mountain top. Wind sat alone on watch, looking around at his teammates. They all had been through a lot, that much was obvious, but Wind felt that he knew that truth on a deeper level. He knew because he could see their ghosts, literally. 

Wild had four ghosts surrounding him at all times, a gerudo, a rito, a goron, and a zora. Wild wasn’t the only one with ghosts. Time had a fairy following him around and Wind could swear there was something off about his masks. Legend had two Hylians following him around. One was a middle aged man and one was a young girl with fiery red hair and a hibiscus flower. 

The person that surprised him the most was Four. He had only one ghost that followed him around and it behaved in a different way than the others. While the other ghosts were stationary, always remaining by the hero’s shoulder, Four’s ghost could move around and disappear. It wasn’t tied down like the others. Four’s ghost also glowed purple, which was a stark contrast to the others that had a teal glow. The strangest thing about Four’s ghost was that it looked like a copy of Four but in a darker color palette. It almost looked like a dark. So you could imagine Wind’s surprise when the ghost started talking.

“Psst hey kid!” It spoke in a quiet voice, like it was afraid other people would hear. Wind pointed to himself, a shocked expression on his face. “Yeah you kid! Don’t think I haven’t noticed you staring at me for the past fifteen minutes.” Winds face went as red as a tomato. The ghost rolled its eyes and put its hands on its hips. “So you can hear me, good. I don’t know why you can see me but it doesn’t matter, I need you to pass on a message for me.” The ghost continued, it spared a brief, longing look at Four.

“Woah freaky ghost, I don’t pass messages for random people. Who are you? Why do you look like a dark? And what are you doing following Four?” Wind shot back, brows furrowed and eyes narrowed. The ghost smirked.   
“You’ve got spunk kid, I like it. First of all, I’m not a ghost, not quite anyway. My soul is very much alive, I just lack a corporal form.” The ghost scoffed, as if it was obvious.

“Isn’t that what being a ghost is?” Wind asked. The ghost crossed its arms and rolled its eyes again.  
“No, it’s not. While all of the other ghosts lost their bodies, I didn’t. Well, I did but I had a back up plan. I lack a corporeal form, but I still have a body.” The ghost explained vaguely.

“You lost me.” Wind deadpanned.   
“I don’t get to have any mystery huh.” The ghost muttered. “I’m Four’s shadow, the shade that follows him around and copies all of his movements. About four years ago I used to have a corporeal form. I was summoned by an evil mage blah blah romance blah blah betrayal that kind of thing. In the end I sacrificed myself by shattering my life source so Four could defeat Ganon. I didn’t actually die, I just went back to being Four’s shadow. That’s my name by the way, Shadow.” Shadow explained.

“So that’s why you glow purple and look like a dark!” Wind whisper shouted. Shadow rolled his eyes for the third time. “How do I know I can trust you? You said for yourself that you’re a dark.” Wind furrowed his eyebrows again.   
“Kid, did you not listen to what I just told you? I sacrificed myself for the greater good. Plus I could never betray Vio like that, at least not for long.” Shadow flushed and looked away. The tip of his hood started to wave around before dropping to the ground, seemingly responding to his thoughts.

“Who’s Vio?” Wind asked, confused further. Shadow cackled and floated in a circle. The tip of his hood perked back up again, pulsing with every laugh.   
“Four hasn’t told you yet? That’ll be a fun conversation.” Shadow snickered, his cheshire grin growing large. “So, are you gonna pass on a message or not?” Shadow asked, suddenly serious again.

“Look, I’d love to help you but I really don’t want anyone to know I can talk to ghosts. In my experience, it only ends badly.” Wind looked down and scratched the back of his head. His thoughts went to all of the ghosts in his world, slightly crazed and desperate for help. Shadow sighed, his hood drooping once again.

“I can respect that. Could you still do me a favor?” Shadow asked, looking desperately into Wind’s eyes.   
“Of course! What do you want me to do?” Wind perked up, happy he could still help out the ghost without having to reveal one of his biggest secrets.   
“Take Four aside and in private, tell him that you thought his shadow was moving while on watch, say that you saw it wave to you. That should give him some hope.” Shadow instructed. Wind nodded eagerly. 

“Is that all you want me to do?” Wind asked. Shadow sighed and looked away.   
“Yeah, that’s all, at least for now.” Shadow gave a small smile. “You’re not so bad kid, a little naive, but you’ve got a good heart. Reminds me of someone I knew. Thanks for the help.” Shadow gave a small salute and with that, he sunk back into Four’s shadow, disappearing from view. 

A few hours into the next watch, Shadow popped out of Four’s shadow again. He checked to make sure Wind was asleep and drifted back to Four. Once he was sure no one could see him he let tears fall freely. Moonlight framed Four’s figure, making him look almost holy. Shadow smiled at Four, tears still rolling down his face. “Hey Link, things didn’t go exactly as planned. It’s going to be a little longer than I expected. Don’t worry though, I’m going to get a corporeal form real soon. I’m coming for you, I promise.”

**Author's Note:**

> Comments are appreciated  
> Thank you for reading!


End file.
